Lone Witness
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Byakuya falls from the heavens, the only one who knows the horrifying fate that has befallen the king. But the fate of all will truly be decided by what an escaped Aizen Sousuke does when Byakuya falls into his hands...yaoi, Aizen/Byakuya, mpreg
1. Oblivion

**Lone Witness**

**By Spunky0ne**

**(You ever have a night when the plot bunnies surround you, all jump on you at once, tie you down, invade your mind and refuse to leave until you write what they give you? Oh...uh, me neither! That's totally _not_ how this story happened. Nope. I don't believe in plot bunnies trying to take over people's minds. But um...anyone know where I can find some mental carrots?**

**Anyway, this story is dedicated to my wonderful, supportive FF friends and fellow Aizenlovers Sariniste and Geecee. Seriously, if it wasn't for these two, I never would have discovered the incredible chemistry between these two characters, and that would have been a terrible thing! So, I love you two for inspiring me. Thanks, and enjoy the story. It's going to be a fun ride...)**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: Oblivion**

"I don't know if I have told you how much I appreciate your loyalty, Byakuya," the soul king said in his calm, tranquil voice, as his cool, pale hands undressed the raven-haired man, "You are beautiful, powerful, loyal and dutiful...all of the things that a king's consort is meant to be."

He studied the noble's bowed head and averted eyes and captured his chin, making their eyes meet. The noble's dark gray orbs widened as they gazed directly into the king's stranger ones, and the monarch felt Byakuya shiver under his hands.

"I know that you do not yet love me, and that is all right. After all, you married me because you were chosen, not because you wanted to. I am not displeased at you taking your time and falling more gradually into love. I think it is better that way. I would delay the making of our heir longer if I could, but I think that the quincy war made us understand why such steps must be taken with more haste."

"I agree," Byakuya said solemnly, studying the king's naked, pale form as the monarch picked up the King's Prism and brought it close to him.

"I need to infuse your body a few more times and then we may be joined. Your body must be wholly purified to receive the heir. I regret that this means the loss of your powers and your connection with Senbonzakura for the duration of the pregnancy, but do not despair. I will return your powers to you when the heir is delivered."

"Yes, my lord," Byakuya replied, lowering his eyes again, "I understand."

The king went silent then, his eyes focused on the comely young transcendent. He called the prism's power to his hands and ran them slowly over the expanses of white, petal soft skin, arousal teasing him as he thought of how it was going to feel to claim the noble's delectable body for the first time. A blush rose on his face and throat and as he continued the infusion, the throbbing in his loins increased until it became painful. He said nothing, but continued his efforts until Byakuya's body radiated with the prism's power. Then, he set the prism at their bedside and started to exit the bed. He froze as Byakuya's hand touched his arm lightly, and he looked back at his new spouse questioningly.

"The infusion has left you uncomfortable," the noble said quietly, "If his majesty wishes it, I will relieve his discomfort."

The words brought a genuine smile to the monarch's lips, and he rewarded Byakuya with a grateful kiss.

"I know that we cannot make love until the infusions are completed, but that does not preclude me pleasuring his majesty."

"Very well, I accept," the king said in a pleased tone, "But, Byakuya, now that you and I are married, you must call me by my name. You may technically still be a servant, but I would like for us to be more."

"As you wish, Reiou," Byakuya answered, lowering himself between the king's parted thighs.

The king's eyes closed and his fingers threaded into the silken lengths of his spouse's fine hair as the other man pleasured him. His breath shortened and he couldn't help but move to deepen the dizzyingly beautiful contact. Byakuya's head turned slightly and graced the monarch, as his eyes opened again, with an enchanting view of his spouse's profile. He admired the flushed cheek, a dark, pretty eye and blushing lips that worked steadily to bring him to completion. He smiled helplessly as he climaxed, holding the noble in place and groaning in bliss. As sweet satedness flooded his lithe body, he turned to return the pleasure he had been given, but paused as an urgent tapping sounded on the door.

"Ah," he said softly, coaxing the noble onto his knees and wrapping his yukata back around him, "I am sorry, Byakuya. Pardon me for a moment."

The king rose and slipped back into his clothes, then walked to the bedroom doors and opened them. He opened his mouth to speak, then Byakuya heard the sickening sound of a sword being driven through someone's body and saw the king stagger backwards, blood exploding from his breached body. As he fell, the king managed a few last words.

"R-reigai! Byakuya, run!"

His first instinct was to protect the king, but a flash of power blinded him before he could move, and the king's fallen form was engulfed and turned to ash. Byakuya grabbed the King's Prism and backed away as the five royal guards entered the room and moved towards him.

"Why are you doing this?" the noble cried, holding the prism against his chest, "You were charged with the king's protection."

"Yes," said Ichibei, moving in front of the other four, "And we will protect the new king."

"What are you talking about?" Byakuya demanded, staring as Kirio removed a bright golden soul candy from within her clothes and held it up for him to see.

"This will be your new king," she said, admiring the soul candy, "I have perfected the king so that he will be more powerful than the former king ever was. He won't be nearly so easy to kill."

"Have you gone mad? What have you done?" the noble gasped, freezing as his back touched the balcony doors, "Why have you done this?"

"Living beings are weak," Kirio explained, "The four of us realized this quickly after we were created to help our originals protect the king in the quincy war. We gathered our power and we overthrew our masters. Now, we will place one of our own on the throne, and no one will ever threaten the royal realm again!"

"Y-you are reigai?" Byakuya whispered disbelievingly.

"We are transcendent reigai," Kirinji corrected him.

"Did...did you kill the others?" the noble asked.

"I think we've done enough talking," Ichibei said, moving towards the cornered noble, "We have come to take the King's Prism to bring this reigai to life!"

"I won't let you!" Byakuya cried, bursting through the doors and launching himself off of the balcony.

He came down in the grass and rolled forward, then gained his feet again.

"You cannot escape!" Kirio hissed, flash stepping after him, "You have no powers to help you and you have no one who is strong enough to overcome us. Give us the prism and we might just spare you!"

Byakuya sidestepped a kido blast and angled towards the King's Gardens. He darted out of the path of another kido strike and fled towards the king's healing pool.

_I may not have any powers, but if I can reach the pool..._

The next kido blast took him off his feet and threw him forward, bringing him splashing down into the pool.

"Stop him!" Kirio screeched, firing off more attacks as the others closed in around the pool.

Byakuya plunged down into the warm water, blood blossoming around him as he landed. He clenched at the prism and focused as well as his battered mind could.

_Please, kings and consorts of the past! Lend me your powers and guide me to the one who can set things right again!_

The pursuing reigai slid to a stop and shielded themselves as golden power bloomed within the pool and the pool, Byakuya and the prism disappeared in a roar of light and sound.

Byakuya felt his consciousness begin to fade as he fell down from the sky. Oddly, the water from the healing pool remained wrapped around him, protecting him as he descended from the royal realm, then cushioning his fall as he crashed down onto hard ground. For a moment, he found that he couldn't move. Then, his breath slowly came back to him and he sat up, looking around.

_Where am I?_

He frowned and slipped the King's Prism back into his yukata, then climbed to his feet and studied the wooded area he had landed in.

"I think I must have gone a bit off course," he breathed, his heart aching as he realized just how much danger he and the three worlds were in.

_I have to find the one who can bring things back into balance. I should have landed close to him, but...all I see are trees and wilderness here. Where is...?_

Byakuya froze, staring in dismay as a dark haired, brown-eyed man emerged, seemingly from nowhere.

"I agree, you have gone off course, Kuchiki Byakuya," the man said, fixing his eyes on the noble and drawing his sword, "But, as I can't have word getting around that I escaped from Muken during the war, I am afraid I will have to eliminate you."

"Sousuke! Sousuke, don't...!" Byakuya gasped as Aizen's sword slashed at him and a heavy blast of kido sent him tumbling into the trees.

Aizen watched, his eyes reflecting surprise as Byakuya's body slammed into the trees, then collapsed onto the ground and went still. He closed in on the noble, holding his sword ready to deal a finishing blow.

"My apologies. I don't like destroying useful things," the traitor said calmly, but it does seem strange, you going down so easily. You didn't even try to shield yourself. Why is that?"

He reached the noble's collapsed and heavily bleeding form and studied him for a moment, then sheathed his sword and knelt at Byakuya's side. His frown deepened as he scanned the noble's body, reading the barest signs of remaining life and the complete absence of any flickers of life from his spirit centers.

"Your powers were removed?" he mused, "No wonder you didn't fight back. Now, I rather regret striking you down so quickly. I would have liked to know how you came to be in this state."

He noticed then that Byakuya's hands were clenched to his chest as though protecting something. Leaning forward, he freed the blood covered item from Byakuya's hands and used an edge of the noble's yukata to wipe away the blood. His eyes widened as he recognized the prism.

"What is this?" he breathed, "Now I very much regret killing you."

He paused as Byakuya moved very slightly and emitted a sound of pain.

"Oh," he said, looking amused, "I see I have underestimated you. Well, seeing as how you desire so much to live and I require some information from you, I will see if I can't manage to save your life. Oh no, don't thank me, Byakuya. The pleasure is all mine, I assure you."

He lifted the noble's limp body into his arms and disappeared back into the wooded area, shrouding the area Byakuya had landed in illusion to hide the blood and damage to the trees. He walked for several minutes before stopping in front of a secluded cabin. Entering the small domicile, he moved to the back and filled the bathtub full of warm water, then undressed the noble and carefully washed and healed his battered body. Byakuya remained silent and unmoving except for the slow passage of breath to show he still lived.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so helpless," the traitor mused, thinking back to his past encounters with the sixth division taichou, "You are lovely this way, Kuchiki Byakuya. I think I will enjoy having you here. I must admit it was a bit lonely being out here with no one else about. I had resigned myself to it, but since I have something to extract from you and anyway can't have you going back and sounding the alarm, I think I will just enjoy the time we have together. Of course, you must be aware that, at some point, I will have to kill you. But let's not think on that for now, ne Byakuya?"

The noble remained still and nearly lifeless in his arms.

"Come now, let's get you into bed," Aizen said, smirking, "I would give you something to wear, but that would only encourage you to try to escape when you wake...besides, you look wonderful naked. I don't think I ever saw you that way before. That is a crime."

He laid Byakuya in bed and set a kido field around his body to immobilize him. Dinnertime was approaching by the time his work was finished, so he bathed and changed his clothes, then walked across the room to the kitchen to prepare his meal, looking back over his shoulder every now and again to check on his lovely captive. Byakuya remained unconscious even as night came and the other man yawned sleepily and joined him on the bed.

"I am afraid we'll have to share," he told the unresponsive noble, "But it doesn't look like you are of a mind to object."

He sighed and breathed in the calm, flowery scent of the noble, his eyes blinking sleepily, then closing. He found sleep much more enjoyable with his body snaked along Byakuya's side and his head pillowed on tumbled strands of raven hair.

Aizen woke some hours later to the sounds of quickened breaths, and he turned onto his side, expecting to meet furious, deadly eyes. Instead, Byakuya's head turned this way and that, but his eyes remained strangely unfocused.

"Who is that?" he asked in an oddly frightened sounding voice, "Why can't I move?"

"Byakuya?" he queried, rising onto an elbow and studying the other man's dark eyes.

"Who are you?" the other man repeated, "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Aizen said, sitting up and looking more sternly down at the noble, "Byakuya, you know I am not stupid and I am not going to waste time with you playing games. I want you to tell me where you came here from, and how you came to be in the possession of the King's Prism."

"Th-the King's Prism?" Byakuya repeated blankly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Aizen found it strange that the words were delivered without the expected tone of loathing, and his frown deepened.

"Byakuya," he said, wrapping a hand around the other man's slender throat, "If you want to live, then I would suggest you stop trying to deceive me and tell me what I want to know! How did you get your hands on the King's Prism?"

"I don't know!" the noble insisted, his face going pale and his body quivering as Aizen's hand tightened around his throat, "I don't know anything. I swear it! Don't...!"

"You are putting on a very undignified display for a clan leader and a taichou," the traitor said reprovingly, "I wouldn't have thought you capable of such disgraceful behavior. I find this disturbing."

"P-please!" the noble pleaded, "I give you my word. I don't know your voice, nor my name or anything else you are asking me! I don't remember anything from before!"

"Very convenient, don't you think?" Aizen asked coldly, raising his reiatsu until the distressed captive could barely draw a breath, "I think I will just kill you now and have done with it. I tire of your foolishness!"

"No! Please don't!" Byakuya gasped, his breast rising and falling even faster as panic set in and Aizen prepared to strike.

_Aizen Sousuke, do not harm the consort. He is telling you the truth._

Aizen whirled, glaring as his eye came to rest on the King's Prism.

"You are speaking to me?" he asked sternly.

He felt the power of the artifact throb within it, but the voices remained silent.

"So, you can speak to me if you choose to then," he concluded, "And you want Byakuya alive. Consort, you say. Is this why he has no powers? Has this affected his mind?"

He frowned as he thought back to Byakuya's arrival in the forest.

"But no, he called me by name when he saw I was going to attack him. Still, if you wanted me not to kill him, why didn't you speak to me then?"

His frown deepened as the prism simply reflected bits of light around the dark room and said nothing more.

"What is happening?" Byakuya said suddenly, "Was there someone else here?"

"Did you hear it?" Aizen asked, loosening his hand where it clenched his captive's throat.

"Did I hear what? I only heard you speaking to someone. Please, will you tell me what is going on?"

Aizen's head tilted slightly and he watched the noble's face closely as he spoke again.

"I know you can't see my shikai, but I can affect your other senses, even without invoking my shikai. I think it is better if you don't remember anything for now."

"What do you mean?" Byakuya asked, his voice shaking uncharacteristically, "What are you...?"

A throb of power exited Aizen's hands and shocked the restrained noble's body, sending him back into a state of unconsciousness. He waited for several minutes, before using another flicker of his reiatsu to wake Byakuya.

The noble's eyes blinked several times and tried to focus.

"What happened?" he asked sleepily, "Why can't I see anything? Who are you? I can feel that someone is there!"

"I am here," Aizen said in a low, kind voice, "You will be fine now, Bya."

"B-bya?"

"You were badly injured in a fall. It seems that your vision and memory have been affected. But they should come back to you. Just rest for now."

"Why can't I move?"

"I had to restrain you so that you would not exacerbate your injuries. Just lay still and try to rest. I will let you know when it is morning."

"But...who are you?"

A slow, wicked smile crawled across Aizen's face.

"I am your master, of course, Aizen Sousuke."

"Oh. Arigatou, for healing me, Aizen-sama," the noble said gratefully.

Aizen blinked in surprise, then smiled even more wickedly.

"It is nothing. Go back to sleep now, Bya. You may resume your duties as soon as you are well again."

"Hai, Aizen-sama," the noble mumbled, drifting off again.

_No...thank you, Byakuya..._


	2. Whispers and Lies

**Chapter 2: Whispers and Lies**

**(Spunky's getting killed with work again, so some quick shout outs before I have to go. Thanks to Emmagem (You've got it! Here you go, and more is coming soon!), Memer (Oh Aizen will be quite evil, but he's going to have a little bitty weak spot...), MissLilly2012 (Oh yes, he is definitely not above playing dirty, that's for sure. And once Byakuya's in his right mind, sparks are going to fly!), LeAwesomeOne IX (I think Byakuya's gong to have some steamy fights and struggles with that bad boy!), Sariniste (You've got it. I am on that!), phAnt0mgh0st7018 (Yeah, I like him nasty with a weak spot for pretty Byakuya!), SJ0263 (Aww, and here's more!), and LeviRudeshortyRose23 (Aww, glad you like it! Um...ah...*rushes to fix spelling* Huh? Who misspelled reigai? Not me, surely! lol) Enjoy the chapter!)**

Aizen Sousuke found sleeping somewhat difficult while pressed up against Byakuya's soft. barely covered body. He couldn't seem to tame his craving to touch that pretty, white skin, to lightly caress the noble's silken hair or to admire Byakuya's calm and very comely sleeping face. He slept poorly, and when he woke after actually falling asleep, it was still too early to get up, and a telling dampness between his thighs informed him that even while sleeping, his mind had not been resting at all.

_I always thought that Byakuya was a beautiful young man. But then, being one of them, how could he not be? They are all such beauties. No wonder the first king who made them took the first Kuchiki as his mate. Ah yes...Hajime was male too. Male or female, these Kuchikis are delectable._

_And this one thinks that I am his master..._

Aizen's lips curved into a torrid smile, and he slid an arm around the sleeping noble's waist, his hand seeking the other man's nether region, then teasing the soft, flaccid genitals into blushing wakefulness. He felt Byakuya move and loose a soft sound of surprise, then his smile widened as the Kuchiki heir's body shivered briefly, then relaxed and simply allowed the contact.

_Yes, the Kuchikis know about serving their master, the soul king. Even though they are prideful and very privileged, when the king gives them an order, they pursue it until it is done. It seems that Byakuya still remembers how to serve his 'master,' even having forgotten who that master really is._

_Oh, this is going to be fun!_

He kissed his way along the back of a pale shoulder, increasing the attention he was giving Byakuya's sensitive areas and feeling a jolt in his loins as the noble's hips began to move against his caressing hand.

"Aizen-sama..." Byakuya whispered sleepily.

Sitting up, he captured the noble's soulful face and guided him downward, watching with deeply aroused eyes as Byakuya latched on and began to offer him surprisingly sinful amounts of pleasure with petal soft lips and a pretty, pink tongue. Aizen's breaths quickened and he moved with the noble, increasing the lovely friction until it seemed to envelop his entire body.

Such wicked sensations quickly undid Aizen's patience, and he nudged his servant's pliant body so that Byakuya laid on his back, open and completely vulnerable. Falling enthusiastically on that sweet mouth that bore their mingled tastes, he savored the fine depths, while sliding a seeking hand down Byakuya's sweating torso and beginning a swift preparation.

And despite feeling somewhat as though having Byakuya resist in some way would only have added to his enjoyment, seeing such a proud man in so vulnerable a state, fully surrendered, pushed him to the brink. His body snaked across the noble's chest and he positioned himself to enter the other man.

He was taken by surprise and extremely displeased when the king's prism, which he had left on the night table flared up suddenly, swirling protective white light around Byakuya's lovely, naked form, hissing an almost violent warning. Aizen paused, glaring at the offending object and emitting something akin to a low growl of impatience.

As he watched, a golden tendril of light extended from the prism and found its way to Aizen's kneeling form, while another found its way to Byakuya.

"Odd," he mused, feeling a drain on his reiatsu as it was drawn into the prism and something was done to it before it emerged again and seeped into the noble's softly panting form, "What is this?"

Byakuya laid quietly on his back, his mind dazed by the touches of golden light on his resting form. His unseeing eyes blinked several times as a memory flared within him.

_He knelt on a soft, wickedly comfortable bed, face to face with a man with dark hair and strange, depthless golden eyes._

_"Byakuya," he said, smiling, "It will not be much longer. Only a few more infusions and then we will be free to make our heir."_

"Our heir..." Byakuya whispered dazedly.

"What was that?" Aizen asked, frowning, "What did you say, Bya?"

_Who was that man I saw in my mind? Is this the master I am with? But it couldn't be, could it? His voice is very different. I wish that I could see him._

The inward wish seemed to echo in the noble's hazy mind as the King's Prism glowed and flickered, then sparked, sending a painful jolt through Byakuya and making both men draw back from the artifact, staring.

Then, it struck Aizen that Byakuya was looking at the prism as though he could see it.

"What is this?" he asked, "You can see now?"

Byakuya sat up, a shocked expression on his face. He blinked several more times, then fixed his dark eyes on his master.

"I only wished that I could see you," he said disbelievingly, "and then suddenly I could!"

Aizen picked up the prism and gazed at it approvingly.

"It seems that I need to spend some more time studying this artifact. Bya, dear, if you will get back to what you were doing before?"

He missed entirely the slightly crestfallen look he received from Byakuya in return as the noble sighed and lowered himself between Aizen's parted thighs again. He worked quietly at his master's aroused genitals as Aizen frowned and looked deeply into the prism, willing it to divulge its secrets.

"What is it that you are doing exactly?" he wondered aloud, catching his breath as Byakuya's oral manipulations intensified.

He set the curious artifact down and returned his attention to the pleasure he was receiving, admiring Byakuya's half closed eyes and somber expression. And watching the greatest of the king's noble lords kneel in front of him and treat his body with such loving reverence sent pleased jolts through his loins. He threaded his fingers into Byakuya's silken hair, tightening them impatiently as the wonderful stimulation continued to rile him.

Aizen's dark eyes drifted shut and his breaths came out in indulgent moans. He couldn't hold his hips still and found them moving reflexively, craving more and more of that enthralling feeling Byakuya's affections gave him. He felt himself approaching climax and slipped a hand under Byakuya's chin, lifting his head slightly so that their eyes met as Aizen climaxed.

The effect was dizzying, looking into those pretty eyes and suffering the hard, beautiful shudders of orgasm. He collapsed onto the bed, his body still ringing with pleasure. It took him several minutes to recover to the point of noticing that although he was completely satisfied, Byakuya still looked dreadfully aroused. He bore it silently, neither seeking physical touch, nor speaking. And although Aizen ached to show his affection to the other man, an unhappy thought invaded.

_It is not good to treat him as my equal. That could lead to troubling willfulness later on._

"Thank you, Bya," he said, turning his back on the noble and curling around a pillow, "You were lovely."

He could feel the impact of the words, even without seeing the noble's face. He rolled over and observed the disappointed look for a moment, then sighed.

"Something troubles you?" he asked.

"No," Byakuya lied.

"But it does," Aizen persisted, "You are unhappy. Perhaps you feel that way because your pride tells you to expect something from me. It is a good lesson, then to remember that the only one you should rely on for your well-being is yourself, Bya. Go now. _Take care of it._"

He rolled over in the other direction, dismissing the displeased noble. He smiled as he felt the bed move, and Byakuya left the room. Moments later, the cabin door opened and closed and Aizen moved then to follow.

_This should be fun to watch. Byakuya, leader of the noble clans, having to take care of his own pleasure._

He slipped out of the cabin and cloaked himself in illusion, then followed the weak signs of Byakuya's reiatsu through the trees. He meandered along a quiet, moonlit trail that emerged near a large, rushing waterfall. He spotted Byakuya, kneeling near the water's edge and closed in, his lips curving upward.

Surprisingly, the noble was still fully dressed and did not even look uncomfortable at having been left unsatisfied. Instead, he just looked lonely, sitting by the water and watching the waterfall, a tear escaping onto one flushed cheek. And the words he whispered were even more surprising.

"I wonder if I have ever been in love," he breathed into the night air, "I wonder if anyone has ever really loved me. If they had, wouldn't I remember despite everything? Isn't love supposed to conquer all things? Why then don't I remember anyone I loved? Anyone I protected? I feel empty."

Aizen's eyes watched him closely as he moved forward and then stood on the edge of the cliff, alongside the crashing waterfall. The sight of him was somehow both chillingly beautiful and achingly sad as he contemplated the long drop down into the roiling water at the base of the falls. And Aizen could suddenly hear the other man's thoughts as clearly as his own.

_I just want to disappear._

He stared at Byakuya, the pieces of the puzzle of the King's Prism beginning to fall into place.

_The king's reiatsu...or...my reiatsu drawn into the prism and changed in some way, then poured into his body, then..._

And suddenly, the prism's odd behavior, stopping them from joining fully, made sense.

_It must take several infusions._

_So...this is what was happening in the royal realm. Byakuya was being prepared to carry the royal heir. But...how did he come to be here? Why did he appear here so suddenly like that? And why does the prism now accept my reiatsu? The prism referred to him before as 'the consort.' Does that mean that it thinks I am the king? How can that be?_

_So many questions..._

But all questions left his mind as he spotted something dark and stealthy that crept out of the woods behind the distracted noble. A feeling like ice rushed through Aizen's veins as the creature was illuminated by a shaft of moonlight.

_A hollow._

_And Byakuya is still powerless._

Impossibly, Byakuya seemed to sense the beast at the last moment. He turned his head, then stiffened. In a moment of panicked reaction, he drew back, and in so doing, he lost his balance and started to fall. Without thought, Aizen flash stepped and caught up the falling noble, holding him tightly as he landed lightly at the bottom of the falls. The hollow glared down at them, then, sensing Aizen's power, ambled away.

When the beast was gone, Aizen turned his eyes towards the man he was still holding against him. And again, the noble's thoughts reached him as though Byakuya had spoken them.

_He does not want me to die then._

_But what am I to him? Just someone to do the tasks that are beneath him? A doll to play with when he is bored? Someone to ease his loneliness while asking for nothing in return. No wonder I feel empty._

_But a mere slave shouldn't have an overabundance of pride, should he? He shouldn't expect to be valued beyond what he can accomplish or produce that helps the master. He should be content with giving and asking nothing. Why is that not enough for me? Why do I want more from him?_

_He is a cold, distant master who will never see me as more than a slave. What insanity makes me long for things to be different? Who was I before that I would want such a thing? And how did I become his slave?_

_Am I really his slave or was he lying to me all along?_

"Yes," Aizen said, looking down into the noble's searching gray eyes and watching the expression shift, "I was lying to you before..._Byakuya_."

"What do you mean?" the noble asked, frowning in confusion, "Why?"

Aizen's grip on him tightened and Byakuya caught his breath and stiffened.

"It is very strange, you showing up here as you did, the King's Prism in hand, panic in your eyes, and unable to defend yourself in any way. I did attack you, and that caused the temporary loss of vision, but now that your vision has returned, you must be starting to recall things as well. I want you to tell me where you came from, how you got your hands on the King's Prism and why it is allowing me to infuse your body with reiatsu! Is this some kind of trick? Is the king playing games with me, using you because he knew of my longtime feelings for you or..."

"You have had feelings for me?" the noble said suddenly, stopping Aizen in his tracks and making him wonder at himself for making such an admission.

Anger blossomed dangerously in the rogue taichou's brown eyes and he shoved Byakuya roughly back against a tree, trapping him there and raising his reiatsu until the powerless noble's legs shook beneath him.

"You _must _know more than you are saying! Tell me what happened to you that brought you out here. Those fools in the Seireitei do not even know I escaped, let alone where to find me. How did you know to come here?"

"I told you!" Byakuya insisted, sweat breaking out on his forehead and his knees weakening, "I don't know anything!"

"You said my name when you arrived! You did look surprised, but there was something else in your eyes, Byakuya, I _saw_ it! Now, tell me what you know or I will kill you right here, right now!"

Byakuya turned his head aside, bracing himself as Aizen's hand rose, a bright swell of blue reiatsu forming around it.

"For the last time, Byakuya, _tell me what you remember_!"

"I..." Byakuya panted, straining to recall anything useful, "only remember a richly decorated room...a man with strange eyes...feeling safe. He did something with the prism and he said that..."

"What?" Aizen asked, glaring at him, "Was this some kind of trick to draw me in? Was it a trap of some kind? Tell me, Byakuya."

"He said..."

Byakuya paused as Aizen power began to overwhelm him. His mind spun and a few more words escaped him as he started to collapse.

"We would...the heir. He went to the door. Something...happened..."

Aizen lowered Byakuya's nearly limp body to the ground, watching him closely as his consciousness faded.

"...attacked," Byakuya managed dazedly, "by...r..."

"By who?" Aizen asked, calm returning to his face, "Who attacked the king?"

"Rei-gai," Byakuya whispered, slipping the rest of the way into unconsciousness.

"An attack by reigai," Aizen mused, lifting the unconscious noble into his arms and carrying him back to the hidden cabin, "So, you escaped and bought the King's Prism here. But why? How did you know to find me here? What made you think I would help you? You were making an heir...and now the prism chooses for you to use me to conclude that process. Interesting. I wonder what more you will tell me when you wake."

He carried Byakuya back into the cabin and removed his clothing, then laid him in bed and bound him securely in kido chains.

"Not that I worry you would do anything useless and stupid, like trying to kill me, but if you escape and these reigai find you, I think you and this child we are making would not live long. Yes, there is something very dangerous afoot, and if the King's Prism chose me to assist you, the situation must be dire. A lovely situation to be in, I think," Aizen said, smiling as he sat down by the bed and picked up the prism.

He gazed into the pretty facets, his mind filled with questions.

And no one was more surprised than he was when something appeared in the bright glints of light and he heard the faint whisper of Byakuya's desperation filled voice.

_Please, kings and consorts of the past! Lend me your powers and guide me to the one who can set things right again!_

"The one who can set things right again?" Aizen mused, "And...the prism sent you to me?"

Inexplicably, he found himself laughing at the irony.


	3. Running

**Chapter 3: Running**

**(Ah, Spunky is forced into full-time work for a little while, so I will post as I can. I will catch up on shout outs this weekend, but thank you so very much to everyone following this, and other stories! Spunky love ya!)**

_Why?_ Byakuya wondered, sensing even in his unconsciousness, the touch of Aizen Sousuke's searching hands on his immobile body, _Why did you hand me over to him, a monster who would betray and murder his own? I know that I need not question the will of the king's and consorts of the past. They possess knowledge and understanding that eludes all else. If they have placed me in these hands, then they are, in fact, hands that can bring everything back into balance._

_But just because they can, does not mean that they will. Or that it is as simple as sitting and waiting for fate to reveal itself. No, I need to act. But to do that, I need to know more. And there is only one place where I can find what I need to know...that place where the history of the three worlds is protected._

_The Kuchiki family archive._

_I must escape him and go there as soon as the heir is seeded._

A shiver went through his body as he thought of being touched by hands that had taken so many lives so heartlessly. Byakuya, too, had taken more than a few lives, but where his blade drew blood in the name of keeping the peace and enforcing the laws of Soul Society, Aizen's blade slew for more selfish reasons...in exchange for increased power and personal gain.

But another thought occurred to the noble as Aizen's power seeped into his body, curling in an area deep in his soft belly and joining that man's reiatsu with his and with the late king's.

_I remember everything now._

_There wasn't only ambition in the slaughter that took place in Central 46. It was too grisly and final. In all other places I can remember, Aizen avoided being the hand that cut away lives. He ordered others to kill, but he saved his own blade as a last resort. Yet in that chamber where the Central 46 council gathered that day, while he could have allowed Gin or Tousen to strike while using his power only to conceal, he walked methodically around that room...one by one, depriving each of those men and women of their lives. Why? What is the secret behind his doing that? And if, indeed, something was done by that group that earned his hatred, then how could he say in honesty that he ever had amorous feelings for me, of all people? He knows that Central 46 is controlled entirely by the noble houses. And I am the leader of the greatest of the clans. If he was wronged so greatly by the council, how then could he feel anything for me but hatred?_

_And it isn't like he didn't show disdain for me. He targeted Rukia directly in his plans. If he had feelings for me, then why did he hurt someone I care about and then order Gin to kill her? There are so many pieces to this puzzle that are scattered about. I need answers._

_But...before I can escape him, I must...we must..._

His mind froze for a moment as he realized that something had changed around him. He moved beneath Aizen's possessive hands and opened his eyes, blinking as he registered the heavy pulsation of light around the awakened prism. Golden light radiated around his body and Aizen's now, pulsing in time with their mated heartbeats as the last infusion ended and the last barrier to their joining fell away.

Byakuya wondered at first if the other man would realize, but had the thought swept from his mind as Aizen's mouth came down on his and his fingers swiftly prepared the noble.

_It seems that the need to mate is instinctual after the period of infusions, _he mused, gasping as the other man's member invaded and claimed him forcefully.

Byakuya wondered how it could be that the emptiness that had tormented him for so long could be filled by such a man, one that had killed some of Byakuya's own kin so viciously.

_What was behind that horrid, gripping fury?_

_What made you slay them with such vehemence, Sousuke?_

_What secrets do you hide in the corners of your mind that would explain what you have done?_

_And why? Why do I burn now to know everything?_

But knowing would have to wait as the joining of their reiatsu in his body made the two heedless in their quest for completion. Their eyes glazed over and their lips devoured each other's. Their nearly senseless forms crashed recklessly against each other, abandoning reason, clarity, coherent thought to reach for a kind of bliss that neither had ever experienced with another person.

_Yes._

_Although we cared deeply for each other, everything that passed between Hisana and me was careful, gentle, never hard or painful..._

_But..._

_But, what is this terrible burning that seems to well up from inside? That makes my heart feel like it will be consumed? That makes me feel like I begin to die?_

_Sousuke, what are you doing to me?_

He watched with barely seeing eyes as Aizen's eyes seemed to sink down into his, as that powerful body thrust heatedly against his and he felt the energies within his reiatsu infused body begin to ignite. Fire flashed on his skin and the emptiness he had felt before disappeared entirely. Joined as they were and creating new life, he couldn't feel the loneliness that had tormented him for most of his life.

_It has, hasn't it? From losing my mother at birth, to losing my father, then Yoruichi when she disappeared...continuing as I assumed leadership of the clan and my grandfather left to serve the king in the royal dimension. I have long felt that emptiness inside. But with every move, with every caress, with every step we take now, he fills the empty places inside me and makes me full and alive again._

_But, what will happen?_

_What will happen when...?_

His thoughts stopped for a moment as he registered something different coming from the other man. Byakuya blinked and stared, wide-eyed as Aizen's body stiffened atop his, then seized violently and began to shudder fitfully, expelling into Byakuya's surrendered body the last bit needed to give life to the forming cluster in his belly. The noble gasped, reeling as his own body recoiled reflexively, then joined Aizen's in the throes of orgasm.

Light from the prism continued to seep into their bodies as the two collapsed in an exhausted tangle and Aizen fell into a deep sleep. Byakuya observed that, in the violence of their sudden coitus, the kido bonds on his body had shattered, leaving him unbound, albeit naked and still trapped in Aizen's arms. He disentangled himself cautiously, his dark eyes watching the other man as he worked himself free and, finding no alternative, purloined the clothes that his captor had been wearing. He picked up the still flickering prism and secreted it in his yukata, then he burst out of the cabin and set himself in the direction he thought would lead him to Kuchiki Manor, running as fast as his weary, powerless legs could carry him. He didn't dare slow, rest for a moment, or even look back, knowing that any moment, the man he had just been with could come awake and realize what he had done.

And there was no knowing what Aizen Sousuke might do, at that point.

Killing him might be the least painful and distressing of options. Byakuya had no doubt that Aizen could think of things far worse. He had proven that countless times.

_I have to reach the manor. The archive is the only place that can hide me from both him and the reigai who must still be searching for me!_

Byakuya's heart pounded painfully in his chest and his body screamed for rest, but it was as though he had been possessed and couldn't slow, even if his very form began to break apart. Several times, he lost track of his direction, his instinct for flight overcoming his sense of direction and causing him to veer slightly off course. He corrected himself quickly and honed in on the Kuchiki residence, registering some sense of relief as he began to see familiar things in the landscape around him.

Byakuya suddenly heard voices ahead of him and slid to a stop, slipping into the trees as two armed Onmitsukido passed him without noticing him.

"You don't really think he will show his face here, do you?"

_They must be talking about Sousuke. Does this mean they have discovered that he escaped?_

"After murdering the king?" the other man asked sarcastically, "No way. The minute he appears, the royal guard will take him into custody and have him executed. He has to know that. Of all people, Kuchiki Byakuya knows what happens to backstabbing traitors!"

_What?_

_They are searching for...me?_

_They think I killed the king?_

"I just can't believe he would do something like that."

"Yeah," said the other man, "A lot of people feel that way. There are more than a few who wonder if those guys from up there are for real. First they spirit the Kuchiki clan leader away with no warning to marry the king, then this. I don't know. Maybe he just lost it. I would if someone just up and dragged me away from my home."

_What do I do now?_

_My low reiatsu will protect me somewhat, but if I am seen by anyone, it is over._

He paused for a moment to consider his options, then chose to continue towards the manor more cautiously. He remained hidden in the trees, little more than a shadow as the day ended and darkness arrived to help hide him from the searching eyes of the Seireitei forces. He reached the manor and slipped inside through a break in the wall that he and his younger cousin had availed themselves of many times in their youth, then he peeked cautiously around a corner, into the gardens, freezing as a heartbreakingly familiar voice sounded.

"You don't really believe that bullshit their saying about him," Renji asked, practically spitting out the disdainful words, "There's no fucking way that he would do that, Tetsuya. You know that!"

"Of course," Tetsuya whispered in a guarded tone, "But you must understand, we have no way to challenge the dictates of the royal guard. They are considered the right hand of the king. And as they have ordered it, we are bound to turn him over to them _if he is discovered here_."

"What?" Renji asked in a shocked voice that made Byakuya smile, "You mean you'd...?"

He went silent then, catching the look on his noble lover's handsome face.

"Ah," he said, recovering himself, "I see."

"Byakuya-sama knows the one place he might escape their reaching hands. Even though I have taken the reins of leadership of the clan, he retains the right to enter that place."

"And where is that?" Renji asked.

"Come," Tetsuya said, looking around cautiously, then setting down his emptied teacup, "I will show you."

Byakuya smiled sadly at the sight of the two, holding hands and heading in his direction. He waited until they had reached the archive door and began to emerge, then froze as the Seireitei alarms began to wail.

"What the hell?" Renji mused, "Again?"

"It is so strange," Tetsuya mused, shaking his head as the alarms continued to sound, "Ever since they arrived, it seems like the hollows refuse to stop their attacks."

"Yeah, it stinks like yesterdays garbage if you ask me," Renji said distastefully.

"Well," Byakuya said softly, still hiding himself, "It is good to see that you have not let leadership of the eigth division change you, Abarai."

Renji and Tetsuya sucked in surprised breaths, then Tetsuya moved hastily to the archive door and opened it.

"Tetsuya-sama!" called an urgent voice, "We have just received word that there has been an attack on Kyouraku soutaichou! He has been injured and the royal guard has taken over control of the Gotei 13, sir!"

"This is grave news," Tetsuya sighed, carefully avoiding looking in the direction of Byakuya's voice, "Do they have any suspects? Was it one of the hollows?"

"No sir," said the house guard, "It wasn't a hollow. The guardsman said that they found a clear reiatsu marking at the scene. They said that it was our former leader, Byakuya-sama!"

"What?" Renji hissed, barely restraining himself as Tetsuya laid a staying hand on his arm.

"I understand," Tetsuya told the house guard.

"The guardsmen have called for a taichou's meeting to take place in the morning."

"Thank you. You may go."

"Hai, Tetsuya-sama," the guard said, bowing, then flash stepping away.

Renji and Tetsuya exchanged worried glances, then looked around carefully. Seeing no one in range, Tetsuya gave a barely perceptible nod and led Renji to the opened archive door. Byakuya moved to follow, then sucked in a shocked breath as an arm wrapped around his waist and something sharp touched his back.

"Go on. Join them," Aizen's low, threatening voice hissed in his ear, "And don't try anything sneaky or I will kill everyone in this place, I promise you."

"Don't show yourself to them."

"Of course not."

Aizen held onto Byakuya, concealing himself and moving with the noble as Byakuya slipped in through the open door and closed it behind him.

"Taichou!" Renji gasped, reaching out and grabbing him tightly, "Taichou, for the love of kami, what the fuck has happened? They want to execute you on sight! They say you killed the king!"

"No," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I never would have been able to do such a thing. Even if I wanted to, I have been powerless since being made the king's consort."

"Powerless? Why?" Renji demanded, still holding on to him until the smiling noble carefully extracted himself, "What the hell is going on?"

"What is going on is that the king was killed in front of me," Byakuya explained.

"What?" Tetsuya and Renji exclaimed together.

Byakuya felt Aizen's close presence and paused, knowing better than to be careless in how he answered.

"I was injured upon first escaping the royal realm," he said softly, "I couldn't remember what happened. But today, things began to clear and I was able to recall my last moments there. Listen carefully to what I will tell you. Your very lives and many others depend on you not letting on that you know."

"What is it? What happened?" Tetsuya asked, moving closer to him.

"I was married to the king and we began the ritual to being forth the royal heir. He began to infuse my body with reiatsu from the King's Prism and we were only a few more infusions from completing the ritual. But, just short of that, five people burst into the royal suite and killed the king in front of me."

"Who were they?" Tetsuya asked, his face paling, "Do not tell me that..."

"It was not the royal guard," Byakuya said, lowering his voice, "but reigai copies that overcame their originals and created their own reigai version of the king in soul candy form. They only needed to possess the King's Prism to bring it to life, so they killed the king and sought to take it from me. I ran to the healing pool and threw myself into it, willing the spirits in the artifact to direct me to someone who could help me to bring forth the heir and stop what the reigai are planning to do. I crashed down and was badly injured, which is why I was not able to return here sooner."

"Yeah, the reigai guardsmen arrived here a day ago, claiming that you slaughtered the king as he slept and then stole the prism," said Renji, sounding disgusted.

"And now, Kyouraku soutaichou has been injured, and I do not think it is a coincidence," concluded Tetsuya.

"No," Byakuya agreed.

"But you said that you found someone to help you," said Renji, "Who was that?"

"I do not think you would believe me if I told you," Byakuya mused, shaking his head.

He paused as a clan butterfly floated into the room.

_Tetsuya-sama, the royal guard has arrived and demands to search the family archive for the traitor, Byakuya-sama!_

"No way!" Renji snapped, laying a hand on his sword.

"Wait, Renji," Byakuya said, taking a steadying breath, "You have to let them search the archive."

"But they'll find you, Cousin!" Tetsuya objected.

"No," Byakuya said softly, "They aren't going to know I am here."

"What?" Tetsuya and Renji queried together.

"You see, when I entered here, I did not enter alone. I brought with me the person that the prism chose to assist me."

He felt Aizen's hand touch him and nodded briefly.

Tetsuya and Renji's eyes rounded as Aizen's illusion faded and they found themselves face to face with the Seireitei's most wicked shinigami.

"Holy shit," Renji breathed, "Did things just get better? Or worse?"


End file.
